Teen Couple Found Shot in Texas Park

Even the news sources are calling it a "possiable hate crime" and we have seen hate crime come out of Texas many times before.. I would imagine it
appropriate to speculate away.

I do agree, but have seen threads quickly spiral in ugly directions with speculation so thanks to the reminder, I'm going to withhold my speculation
until there is more information as to not cause that to happen here and request that others do the same.

Understood, i just didnt want to see anyone shy away from an opinion due to pressure from others.

Understood. It is my opinion, but more evidence is needed to support that opinion sufficiently, so I'll watch it to see how it unfolds....

And continue to send prayer and sympathy for the loss of such a young life and the injuries to the other.
I do hope it wasn't motivated in that way, and hate that it happened at all, to anyone, regardless of their orientation or age.

It's very sad to hear this. Both so young. Both had their whole lives ahead of them.

This may not have been random, or a hate crime.

Random implies, someone happened upon them in the park and shot them. A hate crime almost implies the same thing. As most hate crimes of this nature
are often random attacks.

I think there may be more to this story. Not in a conspiracy sense. But in a possible; The shooter may have known the girls, possibly even had their
affections spurned by one of them, and in an act of aggression that may have been planned, followed them and shot them. I really hope they catch this
person soon.

Okay so without anything other than the media saying it "might be a hate crime" (because the media never tries to stir up crap), we are jumping on the
"it's a hate crime"? Wow so much for denying ignorance. Way to go for knee jerk reactions.

There are at least four possible reasons for this.

One someone happened upon them in the park and killed them just because they were killers, trying to rob them and it went wrong (i.e. they had no cash
on them), it was a failed rape, or some other strange reason.

Two it was a homophobe that killed them because they were gay.

Three it was an ex-lover that was jealous and not over the relationship.

Four it was someone who wanted to have a relationship with one of the girls and was denied and was overly jealous with the attitude of if they could
not have her no one would.

Without further evidence though everything is speculation, jumping on the homophobe thing though seems to leap over other possibilities. My first
thought would be one of the latter two choices. Either an ex or a love denied. Still there is no proof of that either.

It seems likely the police have a hunch on the reason though, and are building evidence and investigating.

Edit to add:

When asked if police had been able to determine if the girls' sexuality played any role in the shootings, Wright told msnbc.com: “That’s
always something that we’re looking for, but as of this point, we have not been able to establish that that had anything to do with the
attack.”

Two girls, alone, at night, in a deserted park, with no lights in the area (gunshots were heard just before midnight).

The shooter probably couldn't even tell they were two teenage girls before killing them.

If, for the sake or argument, it was motivated by this, then it really has the opposite effect. It will more likely galvanize the gay/lesbian
community, foster pro-gay sentiment, etc.

Not to mention, many young women experiment with lesbianism at some point, but most (that I know) eventually go straight (or go straight with some bi
tendencies)....so even more pointless, even if it was the shooter's agenda.

Would have been nice if the story mentioned whether or not the girls were robbed...kind of an important detail there, when trying to determine
motive....

Originally posted by Gazrok
I doubt the fact they were lesbians had anything to do with it.

Two girls, alone, at night, in a deserted park, with no lights in the area (gunshots were heard just before midnight).

The shooter probably couldn't even tell they were two teenage girls before killing them.

If, for the sake or argument, it was motivated by this, then it really has the opposite effect. It will more likely galvanize the gay/lesbian
community, foster pro-gay sentiment, etc.

Not to mention, many young women experiment with lesbianism at some point, but most (that I know) eventually go straight (or go straight with some bi
tendencies)....so even more pointless, even if it was the shooter's agenda.

Would have been nice if the story mentioned whether or not the girls were robbed...kind of an important detail there, when trying to determine
motive....

edit on 27-6-2012 by Gazrok because: (no reason given)

Somebody offline pointed out that most hate crimes similar to the situation are committed against gay men since it's usually men who do the shooting
and ....well, in the back of everyone's mind, there's always that perverted voice that tells them they could have two women at once if they try real
hard...
Lesbians are more readily accepted then gay men are I suppose.
I guess the headline was extremely suggestive and leads people to automatically think "hate crime" in today's society.

I do hope it turns out to not be related to their sexuality at all as it will be a very big national debate... but perhaps a debate that needs to be
had. There are a lot of angles to it if it does turn out that way.

“It appears as if … this was not just a random attack but that’s something that we really have to develop over time.”

Probably don't want to give out too many details of what they know during an ongoing investigation. They wouldn't want to tip off to the
assailant(s) how much they know and/if they are closing in on them, somehow.

Originally posted by Resurected
Texas, a Republican state.. Republicans fear and have intollerance for homosexuals.

Texas, a State like any other State - with a hugely sane population who is hard working, struggling to make ends meet like almost everyone else right
now, and with a reputation for giving and helping our neighbors; and, sadly, containing just enough nutbars to occasionally make everyone else look
bad.

This incident is tragic but you have cheapened the tragedy of two families by bringing politics and personal bias into their nightmare. What if a
member of their families is an ATS member or reader?

Do you think they needed to see that?

Instead of looking for every opportunity to inappropriately throw politics into something, perhaps you could expend a little energy hoping (or even
praying) that the hospitalized girl can get well enough to tell the police exactly who did this and, thereby, get one more nutbar off the street.

The sad reality lately is that too many young folks are killed these days...too many.

I'm not suggesting any type of conspiracy here but definitely not a good news for NRA and folks who use guns for recreational and strictly self
defense purposes. The timings couldn't be more critical with the controversial F&F in the news and the UN mandate to curb the gun laws of many nations
(including US)? Eventually the statistics will favor the rulings especially if they're from the US. Not too long ago a father killed a rapist of her
daughter (5 years old) in Texas. Then we had the Treyvon Martin case. To top things off, the LGBT movement has picked up some steam with the vote
bank politics and elections just around the corner as it can also be turned into a LGBT discrimination case. Not sure if this will be a racial case
since the official investigation has not been concluded yet. So many outcomes from this case.

I think it's important to take into consideration that the founding fathers put the right to bear arms in the bill of rights but at that time, arms
were muzzle loaded rifles, not semi-automatic assault guns. I do support everyone's right to own guns, I own them myself and use them for hunting,
target practice, recreation, but not for committing crimes.
I'm supportive of limiting what types of firearms we can have as civilia citizens or at least limiting what kind of ammunition we are permitted to
buy. If someone is a gun collector and wants to own an AK47, then so be it, but I don't want them to be able to stockpile ammunition for it and
possibly go on a killing spree. I don't see a practical use for that type of weapon other than warfare or crime. They're no good for hunting, very
expensive for recreational use and if we were under attack or have the apocolype, we're not going to be going out plowing people down with our
weapons, we're going to be trying to avoid conflict as much as possible.
When it comes to individual defense, a short range pistol that can also be used recreationally is more than enough. If the event arises that more of a
distance is needed, a deer rifle is more than enough for us as individual citizens.
I don't understand why we can't preserve our right to bear arms but at the same time be reasonable in what kind of arms we want to bear and the
reasons we want them.
There are too many people who are worrying about the letter of the law but ignoring the intent... on both sides.

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